Menopause the Healthy, Happy Way: Nutrition for Change and Growth

Introduction

Menopause is a completely normal physiological event that, sooner or later, will occur in the life of every woman. Therefore, and despite the pharmaceutical industry’s intention to convert it into an unwanted disorder to be fixed with medication, it is not an illness.

Menopause opens the door to a new form of being and experiencing life, but, as in all periods of change, it is very probable that throughout its course various stressors arise, mainly because of the hormone imbalances that it will produce. However, once getting through this stage, the body will have achieved its new balance and, with it, the discomfort will disappear.

This being said, it is true that as a consequence of the most common lifestyle in our society, many women will suffer these symptoms with certain intensity and discomfort, causing them to seek alternatives to relieve them. But, before turning to pharmaceutical hormonal treatments that are usually proposed to alleviate these symptoms, it is essential to seek advice about what is going on and what options exist to improve the situation, and, once well-informed, reflect and decide.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to treat symptoms of menopause is not necessarily free from side-effects and serious health-risks. In some very specific cases, it can be convenient, but, for the majority of women who have natural menopause with moderate symptoms, this treatment causes more harm than good.

Nevertheless, little interest in revealing other basic health information for women exists, in contrast to the great effort to promote this type of medicine. Yes, they should also communicate that our body, if we nurture it, train it, and let it rest as needed, is fully capable of combatting hormonal changes that take place in this stage. In other words, if we satisfy its demands and clean up our habits, our body has proper means to emerge successful and healthy from this journey.

Here is where this book intends to contribute. Its objective is to help overcome this phase in the best possible way, without the need to resort to taking medicine or supplements. In each chapter you will find a simple explanation of why each principal symptom occurs, as well as diet programs and exercise that can contribute to facing them efficiently. Of course, the principal health problems associated with menopause are also included.

If you take the advice that you will read seriously and you make the necessary lifestyle changes, you will be able to go through this stage without too much stress and, most importantly, while maintaining enviable cardiovascular health and agile and strong bones.

To facilitate the diet programs that this book contains, in the last chapter you will find some guidelines that will help you organize yourself and plan your most appropriate diet.

Menopause, a Step Forward

Puberty, pregnancy, and menopause are the three great stages of transition that take place throughout the life of a woman. Each of them leads us to a new life cycle, and it is absolutely normal that during its course we experience great physical, emotional, and psychological changes.

Understanding why these changes—which we sometimes experience with certain fear and confusion—arise, can help us to better understand ourselves. But, above all, it will help us to accept our female condition with pride and gratefulness, without rejecting or being embarrassed by some of the often irritating consequences that these transition periods often entail.

Puberty: Hormonal Awakening

When a girl is born, she comes into the world with a generous amount of oocyte (or eggs), around 500,000. These sexual cells are accumulated in the ovaries but not in an isolated form; rather, each of them is surrounded by a layer of another type of cell forming what is known as ovarian follicles. During childhood, the combination of ovules remains inactive until, at around eight years old, an endocrine gland located in the brain (the pineal gland) emits a signal that turns on the female reproduction system. Then puberty begins.

Puberty is a period of transition in which childhood is left behind and gives way to adolescence. You probably remember the rapid, spectacular changes—mostly physical—that you experienced as you transitioned out of childhood: you grew a lot, you started to develop breasts, you grew hair in your armpits and on your pubis … and one day you had your first period. The first period or menarche normally takes place between ten and sixteen years of age, and with it puberty comes to an end.

All the changes that are produced during this transition are directed by hormones. These chemical substances are generated in the endocrine glands and their principal function is to transmit information between different organs and systems of the body. The hypothalamus (structure located in the brain) is the command center and the first to act. The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) sends the order to the hypophysis (gland close to the hypothalamus) to produce other hormones whose mission will be to direct other endocrine glands in the body, among which are the ovaries (also the testicles, the thyroid, and the adrenal glands).

The hormones secreted by the hypophysis (or pituitary gland) that head towards the ovaries are the gonadotropins (follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, and luteinizing hormone, or LH). Their function is to stimulate the ovaries (and also the testicles) so they begin to produce estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. These sex hormones will be the protagonists of many of the changes that will mark our lives from this point on.

During puberty, estrogen is responsible for the development of secondary sexual characteristics. In other words, it’s estrogen that orders the breasts to grow and the internal genitals (uterus and vagina) to mature. The first menstruation indicates that the levels of estrogen have already increased enough for the uninterrupted cyclical process to begin, the maturity of eggs that will try to be fertile throughout the entire fertile stage. Nevertheless, of the initial amount, only four hundred eggs mature enough and will be released during the menstrual cycle. The others will deteriorate little by little over time.

Progesterone appears later, when the ovaries have already started to function. Their function is to make the endometrium (the internal lining of the uterus) grow, and ultimately to prepare it to accommodate, protect, and nourish the fertilized egg, were it given the chance. When fertilization does not take place, progesterone and estrogen levels diminish, the lining dissolves, and menstruation takes place.

Adulthood: Relative Stability

We hardly realize we have left adolescence behind when we enter adulthood. In this stage, we have achieved our complete physical development and we live in a period of relative psychological and emotional stability. In any case, however stable your life may be, the new challenges that present themselves daily challenge you to never stop learning.

From the hormonal perspective, adulthood coincides with our reproductive years, which is characterized by the changes related to the menstrual cycle. This cyclical process begins the first day of the period, whose duration can be between two and seven days, and ends between twenty-three and twenty-five days later, depending on each woman’s individual experience. The mission of this cycle is to prepare the body for eventual pregnancy (if it does not happen, the period arrives). The follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and the luteinizing hormone (LH) are secreted by the pituitary gland, and estrogen and progesterone are produced by the ovaries and intervene in its regulation.

During this stage, many women also experience motherhood. This phase includes pregnancy, giving birth, and nursing as well as other postnatal demands on the body. It is a period of intense physiological changes augmented by abrupt hormonal fluctuations. This period of transition especially affects the emotions. In fact, it is usual that the woman has conflicting emotions: on one side, pregnancy is reason for great happiness; on the other, the cause of many fears.

And Then … Menopause Arrives

One day, at around forty years old, our internal clock changes rhythms and ovarian senescence begins. From that moment on, just like in puberty, other hormonal changes take place that make way for many changes. From forty on, ovulation does not take place in an orderly way every month, and consequently menstrual cycles become irregular in intensity, duration, and frequency: some months the period arrives late, but others it arrives early, sometimes even multiple months can pass between periods. And, along with the menstrual irregularity, we begin to experience annoying symptoms that we didn’t before. Yes, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, fatigue, mood changes … interrupt our lives without warning and, unless these changes are very severe, our periods continue like this until one day is the last time—in other words, one day the period will not return because we have arrived at menopause.

The premenopausal symptoms can appear up to ten years before the period ends completely. Nevertheless, before the initial signs of discomfort, many women are scared because they are not conscious of what is happening to them. This occurs because, even though we have all heard menopause talked about, what happens to us throughout its course has not always been explained to us well. To be well informed about what this life cycle involves is necessary in order to be prepared and to face it successfully. Recognizing the symptoms early on will allow you to be conscious of the fact that you are in the middle of a process of change, and that way you will be able to dedicate the time and care necessary to go through this stage in the best possible way.

Keep in mind that if we take advantage of this moment, in spite of the discomfort that adaptation to this new situation involves, menopause creates an opportunity for us to create a new, fuller, and gratifying life, in all aspects.

What Is Menopause? Definitions

People often tend to confuse the many terms used to refer to this stage of life. Because of this, before going on, it is important to clarify the meaning of the most relevant terms.

Menopause is the medical term that marks the date of the last menstruation in a woman’s life. It is a natural physiological event that involves decreased production of the hormones that are generated in the ovaries, estrogen and progesterone. It takes place at around fifty years of age (between forty-five and fifty-five) and is accompanied by the loss of the ability to reproduce. If this process takes place in a natural way, the woman will not know if a period is the last one until twelve months have passed. Because of this, a woman can only be sure that she has passed through menopause after the fact, once a year has passed since the final period.

The period disappears suddenly one day in few cases. Except 10 percent of women who have their last period overnight with nothing more, the majority of us pass through a transition preceding the date of menopause.

This period beforehand lasts between eight and ten years, and during its course the quantity of said hormones gradually diminishes. This period of transition is what is known as perimenopause, which refers to approximately one year after menopause. While it occurs we lose ovarian follicles at an accelerated rate, until they finally run out. Some experts also use the term perimenopause to name the years that precede menopause, where a series of varied low-intensity changes are produced. For example, menstrual cycles tend to be regular, but it is already possible to experience the occasional hot flash. However, the WHO (World Health Organization) recommends that the word perimenopause be used to refer to the woman’s entire fertile period until the moment of menopause.

Meanwhile, postmenopause begins after menopause and lasts approximately eight or ten years. In this stage many symptoms of perimenopause diminish in intensity. In exchange, due to various factors, in addition to the diminishment of estrogen levels, a higher risk of illnesses like osteoporosis and cardiovascular problems arises.

The term menopause is often used to refer to the entire transitional spectrum, including perimenopause and postmenopause. The actual stage of menopause occurs between perimenopause and postmenopause. Its duration can be between five and fifteen years. Climacteric is another term that may be used to describe the entire spectrum: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. So, even though menopause is technically only one phase, we often use the term to talk about the entire transitional period, from initial imbalances until our bodies finally adapt to the new physiological situation.

Phases of Menopause

* Perimenopause is the stage that precedes menopause and ends one year after the last period. It can last months, although most typically it lasts eight to ten years. It tends to be accompanied by irregular menstrual cycles.

* Menopause itself refers to the date in which the last definitive period takes place. It is understood that twelve months must have passed since menstruation to be sure that it has taken place.

* Postmenopause is the stage that includes approximately the ten years following the last period. The diminishment of estrogen and progesterone in this period provokes the appearance of some health problems in a high percentage of cases, although not always with the same intensity.

Premature Menopause

Menopause can happen naturally, prematurely, or artificially. In approximately 90 percent of women who have at least one ovary, menopause happens naturally. The average age in which this phenomenon takes place is fifty years old, ranging between forty-five and fifty-five years. In the case of natural menopause, it presents itself little by little, and the duration of the perimenopause phase tends to last between eight and ten years, although sometimes it can last up to fifteen years.

Premature menopause is that which presents itself before forty years of age as a consequence of ovarian failure. It can be due to various causes, including genetic predisposition and certain immune disorders that produce antibodies that affect the ovaries and other organs.

Smoking or other types of chronic stress (for example, excessive physical exercise) are also associated with premature menopause. In this case, perimenopause tends to last longer than usual, from one to three years, which means more dramatic hormonal changes, more intense discomfort, and greater risk of developing osteoporosis during postmenopause. Because of this, it can be helpful to use hormone replacement therapy during the period of adaptation in cases of premature menopause.

Lastly, artificial menopause is that which originates as a result of surgical interventions in which, for different reasons, the ovaries are removed. It can also be induced by radiotherapy or chemotherapy, or because of taking certain medicines that provoke the situation. Since menopause occurs all of a sudden, the